Tuesday, September 6, 2011

I keep hearing a word that pops up regularly that is completely alarming when I ask job seekers to describe themselves. The conversation usually goes like something like this:

Me: "OK, now tell me some of your personal strengths and attributes that make you good for this type of job."

Job seeker: "I'm driven, dedicated, and extremely loyal."

STOP.

Let's interrupt this conversation to have a frank discussion about "loyal."

It always gives me pause because of its contradictory nature when used in the job search process. Semantics mean everything, and this word requires us to dig a little deeper to uncover a huge problem in its use. This brings up two fundamental questions:

Question #1: If an applicant is so loyal, then why are they leaving the employer?

Isn't this expression of "loyalty" technically supposed go both ways? Employees are supposed to be loyal to companies…and companies are supposed to be loyal to good employees, right?

Today's reality sure doesn't look that way.

FACT: We spend a significant portion of our lifetime in the workplace…sometimes even more than we spend with our families, on average. The math doesn't lie: Out of 168 hours in an entire week, we spend approximately 40 sleeping, 73 on our own time, 10 hours commuting, and 45+ hours in the office environment (including lunch time). Out of our entire waking time during any given week, we spend at least 41% in our place of work.

That's a significant chunk. With that amount of time being spent with co-workers, it's easy to come to think of this group somewhat as a 'second family' – a natural assumption given the complex array of relationships that evolve in working so closely with a group of people over so many hours.

But there's an emotional connection in there as well, which goes deeper than the perfunctory professional connection. People bond with their fellow employees and supervisors, and there's a sense of belonging and security that results. Workers are motivated and inspired to throw themselves into their work and oftentimes, exceed what is being asked of them in an effort to help push the company forward. They invest trust in the management and owners in that the executives have the employees' collective back.

Then one of three scenarios happens:

1. The unthinkable. Business drops off, or there's a change in organizational leadership.

Things end up not being the way they used to be. There are more closed-door meetings, and morale might plummet as a result. Staff members don't like the new management or direction, and begin looking for new opportunities and want to jump ship. In other cases, changes like these can mean a pink slip. Struggling to understand, the employees are devastated: "I put my heart and soul into that company," or "I worked hundreds of hours of overtime and never noted it just to get the project done on time," or "I loved my job and always got good reviews…what happened?"

2. The flattery of the competitive offer. You've worked hard, and it's been noticed. Competitors try to snatch you away from your current employer and gee, it's too good to resist so off you go.

3. Boredom/Disconnect. Sometimes, there is simply a shift away from the employer's engagement in the employee, and the worker begins to feel disconnected and alienated. That's when they begin looking for new opportunities to learn new things, be challenged, or move to the next level of their career because there is nowhere else to grow.

How we think about the workplace needs to shift. Sure there are a lot of warm fuzzies that are part of any corporate or business culture, which makes you part of a team. And team chemistry is an important part of the equation.

But don't forget, for even one moment, the workplace is first and foremost a business environment, and your being there is a mutual business decision.

Companies make personnel decisions based on business, not loyalty. Some still allow loyalty to be factored into decision making, but that is quickly being phased out. It's all about dollar and cents now.

Look at this way: You made a business decision to work for them based on the compensation and work that you would be doing, and they have hired you to do a job based on your skills and performance.

Ultimately, I'm becoming ever convinced loyalty in the workplace has become obsolete. Long gone are the allegiances that employees make to a company that seem forever binding, and stay in the same position for time immemorial until they retire. And conversely, employers may overlook long-serving employees and see an opportunity to eliminate 'dead wood,' infuse new ideas, and trim overhead costs.

Loyalty expressed now in a resume or cover letter almost seems a quaint, outdated expression instead of a statement of integrity these days.

So what do you think?

Do you think employee loyalty exists still? Do employers still express loyalty to long-serving employees?

Or is this all about to be erased?

Dawn Rasmussen is the Chief Resume Designer and President of Pathfinder Writing and Career Services.